Lens midfielder Andy Diouf was watched by a host of Premier League teams during Thursday’s Conference League qualifier with Manchester City, Tottenham Hotspur and Aston Villa among them.
- Exclusive from Graeme Bailey
Perennial overachievers Lens have developed quite the reputation for themselves in recent years when it comes to turning young players into future stars while making a considerable profit along the way.
Lois Openda, now a prolific goalscorer at RB Leipzig, moved to the Bundesliga giants after a spell in France. Elye Wahi (Marseille), Cheick Doucoure (Crystal Palace), and now-Sevilla defender Loic Bade also left the Stade Bollaert-Delelis for considerable sums.
And 21-year-old midfielder Andy Diouf is the latest to catch the eye.
HITC can confirm that a host of Premier League clubs scouted the former Basel starlet during Lens’ 2-1 victory over Panathinaikos on Thursday night. Manchester City were in attendance.
As were representatives from Tottenham Hotspur, Aston Villa, Newcastle and Brighton and Hove Albion.
Manchester City and Tottenham scout Andy Diouf of Lens
Diouf played the whole 90 minutes too, despite only recently returning to Lens following his involvement in France’s Olympics team. The 6ft 2ins ace was part of the team which claimed silver under Thierry Henry.
HITC understands that Diouf’s admirers feel he is a player with huge potential.
The youngster moved to France from Switzerland in a £13 million deal back in the summer of 2023. At that point, Diouf was already being linked with the likes of Liverpool.
A dynamic ball-carrier and a classic modern midfield player, Diouf provided seven assists and scored three goals during his final season in Basel, although he has not yet managed to replicate those numbers in a Lens shirt.
“He had a very impactful impact in the Europa Conference League,” former Lens coach Franck Haise told L’Équipe shortly after his arrival a year ago. “He always has the ball at his disposal. He’s a left-footer and I like having left-footer in the middle.
“He has a good quality shot and ticks the boxes we wanted.”
It remains to be seen whether Liverpool come calling again, having been rejected by top midfield target Martin Zubimendi.
Tottenham, meanwhile, may have room for another player in the centre of the park after selling Oliver Skipp to Leicester. Manchester City are interested too, though the imminent return of Ilkay Gundogan after a season from Barcelona leaves Pep Guardiola’s side as strong as ever in the midfield zones.
No shortage of quality midfielders at Aston Villa or Newcastle
Newcastle are also set to welcome back Sandro Tonali after a long absence.
Diouf would likely find game time tough to come by at Aston Villa also. Especially with £50 million summer signing Amadou Onana excelling – and scoring – on his debut in last Saturday’s 2-1 win at West Ham United.
Midfielder partner Youri Tielemans told the Villa website after his fellow Belgian turned in a Man of the Match display.
“It’s just about the system and the players coming in have worked really hard to get the system in, credit to them. Amadou, I know him from the national team so it’s a bit easier for me to find him,” Tielemans explained.
“The manager has been working really hard on the training pitch and we’ve just done what the manager asks of us.
“So, we’re very happy and it’s really good looking forward.”
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